Ever wonder which scents your favorite creatives love wearing? We take a look into their own personal fragrance wardrobes and how scent inspires their work
Fragrance as a hobby has been growing more and more in prominence over the past decade. Beauty brands have been releasing their own fragrance lines. Niche perfumery experienced a boom in audience, even in the most unlikely markets (read: teenage boys). Both the international and local fraghead communities have tripled in numbers. In 2025, perfume is no longer just a bunch of smelly water—it’s an experience, a form of self-expression and storytelling, memories encapsulated in a bottle.
Above all, fragrance is a vital source of inspiration and passion for a number of well-known creatives in Manila. We take a closer look into their respective fragrance collections and talk to them about their favorite perfumes, how fragrance plays a role in their everyday work, and what the art of scent means to them personally.
Shaira Luna, photographer
Personal scent profile: Warm, Cozy, and Woody
Favorite perfumes: Vanille Fatale by Tom Ford, Angelique Noir by Guerlain, Omnia Crystalline by Bvlgari
Shaira Luna’s renowned career as a photographer actually began around the same time as she started collecting bottles of perfume—in 2010-2011. Growing up around oversprayers and perfume lovers, specifically mentioning her dad, Luna would also receive perfume as birthday gifts from her great aunt. Her collection eventually grew into a fully-stocked wardrobe of fragrance—carefully and thoughtfully curated, thanks to her thorough research and love for reading scent reviews.
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Something her fans may not know is that Luna doesn’t just have the eye for the perfect photograph. She also has a strong nose and has had a keen sense of smell for as long as she could remember. “People often tell me that I smell and detect things they can’t! I think this is why I recall certain things or scenarios differently because it’s scent and other weird details I pay attention to first. And, like most people, scent is a very strong memory trigger for me. I love remembering people and places when I smell something.”
Drawn to more comforting scents with heavier notes such as tobacco, whisky, oud, and vanilla, Luna remains one of the most well-known creatives who have loved fragrance for a long time. A significant scent memory of hers involves a trip to New York at a charming Airbnb with stairs that were a pain to climb.
“People often tell me that I smell and detect things they can’t! I think this is why I recall certain things or scenarios differently because it’s scent and other weird details I pay attention to first. And, like most people, scent is a very strong memory trigger for me. I love remembering people and places when I smell something”
“We were always out of breath but looked forward to being welcomed by just the nicest smell ever out of the diffuser. I meant to ask our host what the fragrance was, but kept forgetting to.”
Ali King, content creator
Personal scent profile: Gourmand, Fresh
Favorite perfumes: Gentle Fluidity Gold by Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Trench by YSL , Musc K by Ella K
Before you knew him as one of the Philippines’ biggest fragrance content creators on TikTok, you’ve probably seen Ali King on “Boys Lockdown,” a local BL web series that’s garnered millions of YouTube views. It was around this time, at the height of the pandemic, that King fell in love with niche perfumery after a friend introduced him to the brand Diptyque.
On TikTok, King is beloved for his quick-witted, funny, and easily digestible perfume reviews. What was once just a way for him to document his fast-growing perfume collection became an online space to share fragrance recommendations to thousands of followers. King is currently the go-to local creator for all things gourmand, perfect for anyone on the hunt for vanilla, caramel, or even lactonic, creamy scents. As of writing, King has a following of 140,000 on TikTok and owns a collection of more than 100 full bottles of niche and designer fragrances.
“To me, scent has this incredible ability to trigger memories, and I love associating different fragrances with moments in my life. It’s like a personal time capsule in a bottle”
As a full-time social media manager at an ad agency, King mentions how his content helps him take a deeper look into the platforms we use. “It’s also a way for me to understand TikTok as a platform, study how influencers work, and explore how buying decisions are made.”
To King, fragrance is much more than self-expression. “It’s the finishing touch, the cherry on top, the thing that makes people remember you. To me, scent has this incredible ability to trigger memories, and I love associating different fragrances with moments in my life. It’s like a personal time capsule in a bottle,” he says.
Tim Lopez, illustrator and designer
Personal scent profile: Green, Spicy
Favorite perfumes: Body Paint by Vilhelm Parfumerie, Bois Dore by Van Cleef & Arpels, Seahorse by Zoologist
After learning about niche perfumes from friends and attending an Oscar Mejia fragrance workshop back in 2018, illustrator, designer, and And a Half partner Tim Lopez was fascinated to learn how scents can have different textures, from damp and wet to powdery and icy. His obsession fully took off during the pandemic when he started collecting pricey decants from Vilhelm Parfumerie, Fueguia 1833, Maison Crivelli, and more.
While most collect full bottles, Lopez would rather save and invest in the time to really test a perfume through decants. “Apart from economical reasons, your first smell can be different from spending a day with it, and I don’t think you need 50ml to find that out. For example, Vilhelm’s Morning Chess is a really good, deep, leathery yet clearly citrus fragrance, but I guess my nose just didn’t get along with it after three or four wears. And I’m glad I learned that with a 2ml sample rather than a full bottle.”
Lopez’s illustrations are known for their vibrancy and quirkiness—a playful mix of colors, shapes, and texture. He finds that breaking down the elements of a fragrance, its materials, and how they all come together to tell a story, inspires him to elevate his art.
“Sampaguita or jasmine, visually, is very delicate and pleasant, but it can also be the base for a lot of dirty, animalic scents. How can I work with colors, material, and form to visualize an idea differently?”
“It challenges me to also think of different ways to get to a visual conclusion and land the right feeling. Leather as a material has some associations with rock and punk culture, but sometimes in perfume it comes from the little saffron flower,” he muses. “Oud Maracuja from Maison Crivelli even uses passion fruit to help create a leather scent when they paired it with oud. Sampaguita or jasmine, visually, is very delicate and pleasant, but it can also be the base for a lot of dirty, animalic scents. How can I work with colors, material, and form to visualize an idea differently?”
JL Crespo, stylist and content creator
Personal scent profile: Musky, Woody
Favorite perfumes: Another 13 by Le Labo, Agarwood by The Lab Fragrances, No.4 Bois de Balincourt by Maison Louis Marie
Fashion stylist JL Crespo’s first foray into fragrance was his love for scented candles. After exploring more home fragrances for a bit, he nosedived into perfumes—which are another form of self-expression for him other than clothing.
Moonlighting as a content creator under the moniker guy.skin, Crespo’s tasteful fragrance curation and honest thoughts on perfumes have garnered the attention of multiple international niche brands, such as D.S. & Durga, The 7 Virtues, Phlur, and Maison Louis Marie, among others. At the moment, Crespo is drawn to musky, skin-like scents like Le Labo’s iconic Another 13, alternating this profile with woody, green, and floral perfumes.
“A fragrance can instantly set the emotional tone for my work. Fragrance, like fashion, is personal”
“A fragrance can instantly set the emotional tone for my work. Fragrance, like fashion, is personal. I consider clients’ fragrance preferences to better understand their vibe and choose outfits that reflect their personality,” says Crespo, who styles celebrities and models for a living, including for Scout’s profile on BP Valenzuela.
If you’re someone looking to incorporate fragrance into your everyday fashion, Crespo says the easiest way to figure that out is to get out there and smell as many fragrances as you can. “I’d recommend starting with something that aligns with your personal style and enhances your vibe—if you have no idea what that is, just go smell some perfumes and you’ll figure it out.”
